


F.O.T.M.

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Coping, Eating, F/M, Flirting, Food, Humor, Long-Distance Relationship, Pining, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 07:52:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14996258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: Set during S4. Someone is sending Coulson mysterious packages while he searches for Daisy.





	F.O.T.M.

"It would seem you have a mysterious package."

Coulson stares up at Agent Piper after she's placed the brown paper parcel on the table in front of him.

It's like she's waiting for him to say or do something about this.

"Don't worry," she assures him. "It went through plenty of security checks. All of them, actually. Red. Blue. Orange."

He blinks at the other agent, still eyeballing him and the mysterious item. His name is scrawled on the top in fat sharpie lettering.

_Phillip J. Coulson._

Turning his head, he examines the writing more closely, in profiler mode.

Something that's been honed more in the last few weeks now that he's back in the field again.

"But, I can't make any promises," she says ominously, just when he reaches for it.

"Are you waiting to see if it explodes?" he asks her pointedly, as he pulls it in closer to him.

"You have a lot of really interesting enemies," she replies, leaning in. "Pretty creative ones, from the files I've read."

"Oh goodie," he says blithely, adding a deep sigh. "Then I won't keep us in suspense."

Tearing apart the brown paper, there's another smaller box inside. Plastic and sealed.

They exchange a glance, and Piper actually looks a little anxious now.

 _He_ should be more anxious. They've been endearing themselves to Watchdogs these days.

It's cold to the touch when he carefully lifts it out and sets it on the desktop.

Then he cracks the top open, and peers down into the small box.

"Sir, what is it?" Piper asks him, leaning over the desk.

"Flavor of the month?" he tells her, pulling out the single pint container, and the plainly stated note he just read attached.

"Ice cream?!" she exclaims like she's truly disappointed. "Someone went to all this trouble to send you ice cream."

"Guess so," he tells her, looking down in the box again and finding a disposable spoon within.

"At least tell me it's something good."

" _9 1/2 Caramels_ ," he tells her, twisting the container to read the same nondescript handwriting scrawled on it.

She's noticed the puzzled but amused expression on his face.

"That _doesn't_ sound like official SHIELD business," she replies, as he takes the lid off. "I think it's that movie, that-"

"Yes, thank you."

He waits until she's gone to take the first bite, then he sits back in the chair, closes his eyes.

"Dammit, Daisy."

  
###

  
"Sorry, but, I ate the last of that ice cream," Mack tells him while he's holding open the freezer door.

" _My_ ice cream?" he answers, giving him a pitiful look.

"You said what's mine is yours," Mack says accusingly. "Are you doing take backs?"

He just stares back at him, appalled.

"Look, there was hardly any left," Mack goes on, starting to sound apologetic. "I'll get you more, the next time we're out in the field."

He frowns a little, not really willing to explain this. He's not sure he can exactly. Or if he's even certain-

"Oh no, it's from some specialty shop, isn't it?" Mack asks. "How much is this going to set me back?"

"Don't worry about it," Coulson tells him, flipping the freezer door shut, then spinning to stare him down. "Why did you leave it in there if you finished it?"

Mack glances away, then rolls his eyes when Coulson puts his hands on his hips. "Okay, full disclosure: I dug all the Red Hots out of it, okay?"

"You did wh-" he huffs and uncrosses his arms, crosses them again.

"There's just some banana ice cream, with a little hint of the pink where the candies use to be," he tells him, making a descriptive gesture.

"What kind of son did your mother raise?" Coulson reprimands him.

"Elena gave me a hard time," he confesses. "About the monitoring situation. About SHIELD. I was in a bad place, man."

He can't really begrudge him that. After all, he sympathizes.

At least Mack gets to _see_ Elena. Meanwhile, he's left just chasing crumbs trying to keep up with Daisy.

" _Red Hot Lover_?" Mack asks him gently. "Is this how you're coping? And when are you going to shave?"

"Yes, and you ate my coping mechanism," Coulson says with a shrug. "And when I feel like it, to your second question."

He thinks it's better than him being found out. The last thing he wants is his "Flavor of the Month" to get quarantined by the new administration.

"Don't worry," Mack says. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Good!" Coulson replies, eyeballing him. "What did you think of it?"

"Made me want to practice my Spanish," Mack tells him in a low voice.

"Yeah. I guess it would."

"What about you?" Mack asks, opening the freezer and taking the pint out, then crossing in front of him and opening the drawer to get a spoon.

"What about me?"

"You don't seem like a Red Hots kind of guy to me," Mack tells him, flipping the lid into the trash and digging in.

"I'm an open-minded guy," Coulson tells him, watching him eat it.

Mack pauses, then tips the container towards him. "Want to share?"

He goes to the drawer to get a spoon.

  
###

  
"Have some."

"You’re offering me _ice cream_?" Robbie scoffs from his seat on the pod bench. "Is this standard SHIELD procedure?

"You had a rough day," Coulson tells him, holding it out to him along with the spoon. "Don't want to get off on the wrong foot."

"I don't trust you guys," Robbie answers definitively.

"You trust Daisy," Coulson reminds him. "Daisy trusts me."

"Don't need to explain it to me like I'm five," Robbie says, taking the container from him, albeit a little roughly, and examines it.

"What happens if you get brain freeze?" Coulson asks. "Does that keep your head from, you know-“

"This better not be some kind of trick," Robbie frowns, sitting up straighter, holding the pint aloft in a warning. "It’s not going to make me unconscious, or-"

"That was a joke," Coulson tells him. "No, it’s safe. My own personal stash."

The younger man smirks at him and looks at the ice cream again. “ _Mi Bon Bon_. Sounds _real_ personal."

"It's just ice cream," Coulson says, blinking over at him, watching him take the lid off and set it down on the bench next to him.

"Hey, what gives?" Robbie asks him, staring down inside. "There's just some chocolate ice cream with holes in it."

"Mack," Coulson says in a hushed tone, glancing out the window of the pod to see if he can spot him.

"Did someone get to your Bon Bons before you?" Robbie goads him, almost laughing.

"Yes, something like that," Coulson says, rolling his eyes. "Do you want it, or not?"

Robbie pokes the spoon down inside it and takes a bite. "I'm going to eat this because I'm enjoying your expression right now."

He narrows his eyes and watches the younger man smile widely and eat the ice cream.

"It's pretty good," he says between mouthfuls. "Homemade, or what?"

" _Or what_ ," Coulson tells him.

"I'm going to meet you half-way," Robbie says, swallowing a bite and jabbing the spoon towards him. "Like your half-eaten peace offering here."

"Not gonna lie," Coulson says with a smirk. "Kinda hope you do get brain freeze."

"Knew you were a hard-ass," Robbie nods, still eating. "So, what do you want from me?"

"I asked for your help. That's all."

"You asked for Daisy's help, and you think I'm with Daisy," he tells him.

"I think Daisy's already convinced you to help," he smiles. "We can help each other."

"So this is about Daisy," Robbie retorts, finishing the ice cream and setting it on the bench with the lid and the spoon. "All done."

Coulson just glares back at him, until Robbie crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows at him.

Dammit. _Daisy_.

  
###

  
"What's this?"

"A peace offering," she says, holding out the pint towards him, as she walks into the hangar.

"Seems more like a confession," he says, reaching out his artificial hand and taking it from her, noticing how she doesn't quite let it go right away.

"I was raised Catholic," she reminds him. "Ease up a little."

He looks down at his feet, a private smile on his face.

"I knew it was you all along," he tells her, finding her eyes again, searching them.

"Like I said," she blinks slowly, ducking her head. "There were a few things I missed."

He looks at the writing on it. _Besitos_. Mack would appreciate that. He finds himself flushing again over ice cream, not for the first time.

"How come you never tried to find the shop that made it?" she asks him.

"I kept hoping that you would show up instead?" he asks, as she holds out a spoon to him. "I wasn't trying to get in the way, I wanted to help."

"Yeah, hot on my trail," she sighs and watches him open the top of it.

"Don't let Mack see this," he warns her. "He'll dig out all the good parts."

"You shared," she tells him playfully. "That's so like you, really."

"Involuntary sharing," he says, taking the first bite. "Mmm. What's in here? Something chocolate, and...pink. _Sweet_."

"It's meringue, I think? The people that owned the shop let me rent out some space above them. They're Inhumans."

"We checked all of them," he tells her. "I mean, we had to, because of the Accords."

"There are still Inhumans that know how to hide. That haven't gone through Terrigenesis," she reminds him. "That aren't registered."

"Good," he nods, eating another bite. "I'm glad to hear that." He holds out his spoon to her. "Want to share?"

"I wanted to keep you out of this," she admits. "Didn't really work out how I planned. Besides, you seemed like you might need cheering up?"

He frowns a bit at the idea, that she watched after him while fighting off Watchdogs. That he had a safe place to land, while she didn’t.

It doesn’t matter now. None of it mattered. _She_ matters.

"Guess I’m in too deep at this point?" he admits, lifting the spoon to her.

Yeah. _Same_ ,” she smiles, then opens and takes a bite off the spoon, humming happily at the flavors, as he watches. "Tastes even better than the first time I had it."

"Did you eat a lot of ice cream?" he asks, trying to be nonchalant about the ask.

"Of course," she tells him, taking a hold of his wrist when he's dug another bite out, and raising it so she can have another taste. "Wanted to make sure you got the best."

"Uh," he pauses, even after the spoon is bare, trying not to blush more. "Do... _all_ the flavors have such interesting names? Or were you just trying to embarrass me?"

"Were you embarrassed?" she asks, raising an eyebrow, letting go of his hand.

"I was-" he starts to tell her, feeling his face get hot when they hear footsteps approaching and both take a step back.

"Coulson-" Mack says, appearing between them, suddenly distracted. "More ice cream? Where do you find the time?"

He glances between the two of them and the container. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No," they both say, almost in unison, shaking their heads.

"How is it?" Mack asks, bending a little to look at the container to read it. " _Besitos_? Okay, that's between you and God."

"You want some, don't you?" Coulson asks, stealing a wry glance at Daisy, chuckling at both of them.

"And if I said yes?" Mack asks him, raising his eyebrows.

"I'd be very...flattered," Coulson tells him, catching Daisy's eyes as he says it.

"You already knew the answer," Mack adds.

"But, do we need another spoon?"

 


End file.
